


Cassius Warrington: Hogwarts Champion

by TJHammer2



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Book 4: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Canon Divergence, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-23
Updated: 2021-02-13
Packaged: 2021-03-14 22:16:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 10,481
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28927911
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TJHammer2/pseuds/TJHammer2
Summary: Based on the Reddit thread: "what if instead of Cedric Diggory, Cassius Warrington had been chosen to compete in the Triwizard Tournament? Imagine Dumbledore calling out the name of the Hogwarts champion and it isn't a Gryffindor, or a Ravenclaw, or even a Hufflepuff, but it's a Slytherin. A student from a House most people hate."
Comments: 1
Kudos: 5





	1. Slytherin Prefects

After the feast on October 30th, Cassius Warrington found himself sitting next to his girlfriend, Sylvia Melville, on a couch in the Slytherin Common Room. She was curled up next to him reading her copy of Confronting the Faceless for Defence Against The Dark Arts while Cassius finished the last bit of his Transfiguration class.

"Do you think I could do it?" he asked quietly, adding the last word onto his essay and setting his quill down. He watched Sylvia carefully as her eyebrows lifted and she held her finger out while she finished the paragraph she was on. She waved her wand at the page and a black and silver bookmark appeared. Snapping the book shut, she tossed it into her bag and looked up at him smiling.

"Sorry Cas, what did you say?" She said, turning her shoulders to give him her full attention. Sometimes he had been so lucky to be her boyfriend. She had been a close family friend for years and Cassius had always been mesmerized by her beautiful brown hair that fell past her shoulders in waves. Picking a strand that had fallen into her beautiful face, he tucked it behind her ear and let out a sigh.

"Do you think I could do it?" he repeated, not having the courage to look into her piercing eyes, he found himself looking down at his hands.

"Are you talking about the tournament?" She asked, confusion evident in her voice.

"Yeah," He responded looking up. He felt her eyes latch onto his and couldn't look away, The blue seemed to swirl as she searched for answers to her mounting questions.

"Well Dumbledore said it would be open to enter till tomorrow evening, didn't he?"

"Yeah, but if I was chosen," Cassius took a deep breath before continuing, "Do you think I'd have a chance to win it or even be picked." He broke their eye contact as she stared at him in shock. He began to wring his hands as he waited for her response.

Sylvia sat there for a moment, the question had caught her off guard. However, she quickly snapped out of her shock and grimaced at the dejected look on her boyfriend's face. She reached out putting her index under his chin and forced him to look back up at her.

"Of course, you can Cas," she stated as if it was so obvious even a rock would agree, "You would blow those international students away if you wanted to. You are a pureblood Slytherin prefect and top of the class. I don't care what those Hufflepuffs say you are much smarter than Cedric Diggory."

After a moment's hesitation, she added softly, "You're also my boyfriend." Leaning in she gave him a kiss before straightening up again.

"I think you should do it," she said.

"But what if it doesn't pick me," he said, "I don't want my friends, let alone my parents to find out that I entered and the ruddy cup picked someone over me."

"Well then let go right now," Sylvia responded looking around the mostly deserted common room and dropping her voice into a whisper.

"That way," she continued, "nobody will know you put your name in until you are picked"

"If I'm picked," Cassius corrected.

"Yes, If you are picked," Sylvia agreed. Cassius quickly bent over his bag and pulled a spare bit of parchment from the bottom. He uncorked his ink and dipped his quill into it. He scribed Cassius Warrington Hogwarts onto a corner of the parchment and once it had dried he tore it off. Sylvia had exited the common room quickly to put her bag in her dorm and Cassius did the same. They met back in the common room a minute or two later. They both pinned their prefect badges on, as they agreed. It would be less suspicious for them to act as though they were patrolling the corridors and they would not be in trouble if they ran into filch or any of the professors.

Cassius kept a tight grip on the little piece of parchment in one hand and offered the other to Sylvia as they exited the room into the corridor beyond.

As they made their way up to the entrance hall, Cassius' nerves began to diminish slightly. Sylvia's pep talk had helped him a lot. It reminded him of what his father had always said. 'Being a Slytherin Pureblood is the most prestigious status you can have at Hogwarts. When the Dark Lord returns you will be welcomed into his ranks without question.' He couldn't help but be skeptical of his father's claim that the Dark Lord would return but who was he to question it. According to his mother, the Dark Mark seemed to be becoming darker over the past year, and that Cassius should start to prepare for his return.

His family had been immensely proud of him in the previous year when he finally asked Sylvia to be his girlfriend. His heart warmed as he remembered how her eyes had lit up and her lips had curled into the most beautiful smile when she had accepted.

"What are you thinking about, Love?" She asked quietly as she watched a smile slide onto his face at the memory.

"Just you," he said, glancing over at her as she blushed heavily.

"Oh," was all she was able to respond. They were just about to reach the entrance hall when they heard thudding footsteps coming in their direction. Before they were even able to panic, Professor Moody appeared at the top of the staircase, wand drawn, looking startled.

"Warrington, Melville, What'r you doin wandering the castle at this time at night?" Moody's gruff voice snarled suspiciously.

"We are prefects, sir," Sylvia explained, "we are on patrol tonight.

"Oh, well I should be going then," he grunted, turning and exiting the hall on the opposite side.

"That was strange," Cassius said once they were alone again.

"He's so creepy," Sylvia complained, "and the constant vigilance shit is a bit excessive."

"No kidding," Cassius muttered. He wasn't really listening as Sylvia continued to rant, instead, his eyes were fixed on the blue and white flame that seemed to be erupting from the wooden goblet that had been placed at the center of the hall. He felt Sylvia's hand rest on his back as she pushed him forward towards it.

He slowly approached it and looked down. For some reason, he felt the need to hold his breath as he crossed the age line. Though he had turned 17 over 2 months ago, he feared that he would be thrown out for some strange unknown reason. It didn't and Cassius let out the breath he was holding. He glanced over at Sylvia who was standing on the other side of the line beaming at him. She, unlike himself, was not turning 17 until January. He looked over at the cup and a sly grin formed on his face. He pulled the parchment in his name and held it over the flames. In a moment of bravery or stupidity, he had yet to decide, he released the parchment and it fell into the goblet. After a moment he turned back to Sylvia and the two walked hand and hand back to the common room.


	2. Champion Selection

Cassius's leg bounced as he finished the last few bites of pudding at dinner the following evening. Glancing for the hundredth time up towards the high table he saw that Professor Dumbledore was still working a piece of his treacle tart. He could feel the impatience in the room grow as everyone seemed to be waiting for the same thing. It had been several minutes since he had lost track of the conversation going on around him.

"I'm telling the truth, Warrington was there. Tell 'em, Cassius," Garrick Selwyn said, elbowing Cassius in the side. Garrick was a tall boy with tight curly hair that he let grow down to his shoulders much to his mother's dismay.

"Huh, oh yeah, totally," Cassius attempted to act as though he had been paying attention but failed miserably.

"Dude, what up? You're acting weird," Miles Bletchley, another one of Cassius' friends asked from across the table.

"Eeerrrr, Nothing. Just out of it I guess." He quickly realized that this excuse would not cut it and added, "Prefect duties ran late last night."

"Ahh perfect duties," Miles said, winking at him, "do these duties happen to include a certain girlfriend of yours?"

"Oh shut up, Miles!" Cassius swatted, "It was not what you're thinking."

"Okay then Warrington whatever you say," Garrick said. Before Cassius could respond further, the hall went silent as Professor Dumbledore stood and approached his podium. His eyes caught Sylvia's and she gave him a hopeful look and held up crossed fingers.

"Well, the goblet is almost ready to make its decision," said Dumbledore. "I estimate that it requires one more minute. Now, when the champions' names are called, I would ask them to please to come up to the top of the Hall, walk along the staff table, and go through into the next chamber," He paused and gestured to the door at the end of the staff table and then continued, "where they will be receiving their first instructions."

Dumbledore took his wand from a pocket in his robes and gave it a wave. At once all of the candles, with an exception of the ones inside of the jack-o-lanterns, extinguished. The light from the goblet's flames seemed to glow brighter than before and everyone watched with baited breath.

Suddenly the flames turned red and a charred piece of parchment shot out of the goblet. Reaching up, Dumbledore quickly grasped it and turned to the crowd. He held the scrap of parchment at arm's length in order to read it by the light of the flames, which had turned blue once more.

"The champion for Durmstrang," he read, in a strong, clear voice, "will be Viktor Krum."

Applause erupted from the crowd as Krum made his way to the front.

"Bravo, Viktor!" Karkaroff boomed, giving him a standing ovation, "Knew you had it in you!" At this, Garrick gave him another shove in the side and leaned over to mutter in Cassius' ear.

"Just slight favoritism going on there!" he said rolling his eyes.

Just as the clapping had diminished in the hall, the goblet's flames turned red again and another piece of parchment flew out.

"The champion for Beauxbatons," said Dumbledore, "is Fleur Delacour!"

Another round of applause ensued and Cassius' nerves were going haywire. He couldn't do anything except stare at the goblet waiting impatiently for it's flames to turn red for the final time.

"And the Hogwarts Champion is…" Dumbledore's voice rang through the hall as he reached up and plucked the small piece of parchment from the air next to the goblet of fire.

"Cassius Warrington," He finished and the hall erupted with noise. Every house seemed to react in a different way simultaneously.

The Ravenclaws seemed to be frozen in shock. Cassius had passed a gaggle of them earlier in the day who seemed positive that the champion would be a Ravenclaw since their wit and intelligence would be regarded much higher than ambition or bravery let alone loyalty. After a few moments, they began to clap politely for Cassius who in their mind won fair and square. The Hufflepuffs shared a similar sentiment being disappointed that they were once again pushed out of the spotlight by the other houses.

The Gryffindor table had simply erupted in protest. They shouted and screamed across the hall because there was absolutely no way that they would let Hogwarts be represented by an evil and vicious Slytherin.

Cassius didn't much care about any of these reactions though because he found himself surrounded on all sides by his friends and classmates. There were whoops and hollers coming from all sides and the Slytherin house celebrated a victory that no one could take from them. It had been so long since they had been able to win anything and they were simply ecstatic. Cassius began to wade through the crowd of Slytherins and push towards the front of the hall. He paused quickly halfway there to give Sylvia a hug and kiss before wading the rest of the way to the front of the hall and through the door behind the high table.

Cassius looked around the room on the other side of the door. The wall of the room seemed to be covered in paintings that seemed to be full to the brim with curious portraits. They all seemed to be gossiping and staring at him as he entered. He quickly noticed Krum and the Beauxbatons girls standing by the fireplace. They had both looked up as he had walked in and were now eyeing him curiously.

"Warrington, right?" Krum grunted. Cassius found himself surprised that Krum had remembered him from dinner the previous evening but quickly nodded to cover it up. He quickly crossed the room to stand with the two and offered his hand and Victor gave it a firm shake before leaning on the mantle.

"My name iz Fleur Delacour," The Beauxbatons girl informed him, shaking his hand delicately.

"Cassius Warrington," He blanched, becoming mesmerized by her beautiful blonde hair. Before he was able to blurt out something that he was bound to regret, the door opened once again breaking the trance. A figure Cassius knew to be Harry Potter stood in the entrance with a look of pure shell shock written across his face. Unlike himself, Fleur had not seemed to recognize Harry and regard him as if he was a piece of dirt that hadn't been swept from the floor.

"What is it?" she said. "Do zey want us back in ze Hall?"

Harry just stood there as more footsteps echoed behind the boy. Ludo Bagman appeared behind Harry and steered him into the room by his shoulders.

"Extraordinary!" he muttered, squeezing Harry's arm. "Absolutely extraordinary! Gentlemen… lady," he added, approaching the fireside and addressing the other three. "May I introduce, incredible though it may seem, the fourth Triwizard champion?"

Warrington just stared blankly at Bagman as the other two champions let out noises of protest. This was the first thing that occurred tonight that hadn't surprised him in the least. This had been a certain possibility that the Slytherins had been counting on since the tournament was announced. Potter always needed to be the center of attention and there was no way the boy would pass up a chance for even more 'Eternal Glory'.

Fleur, tossed her hair, smiling, and said, "Oh, vairy funny joke, Meester Bagman."

"Joke?" Bagman repeated, bewildered. "No, no, not at all! Harry's name just came out of the Goblet of Fire!"

"But evidently zair 'as been a mistake," she said contemptuously to Bagman. " 'E cannot compete. 'E is too young."

"Well… it is amazing," Bagman responded plainly, grinning at Harry in the process. "But, as you know, the age restriction was only imposed this year as an extra safety measure. And as his name's come out of the goblet… I mean, I don't think there can be any ducking out at this stage… It's down in the rules, you're obliged… Harry will just have to do the best he"

The door opened again interrupting Bagman's floundering and Cassius watched as Dumbledore entered the chamber with Mr. Crouch, Professor Karkaroff, Madame Maxime, Professor McGonagall, and Professor Snape close on his heels. At this point Cassius dismissed himself from the conversation returning to the fire and watching the flames devour the flames and the portraits gathered in the closet wall to Dumbledore as to not miss a single statement as he began to talk.

Cassius zoned out as they began to bicker over Harry's eligibility in the tournament. When the room had seemed to come to the consensus that Harry would be competing, Mr. Crouch moved into the firelight to address the four students and Cassius felt a new emotion bubble up inside of him. For the first time since his name was pulled from the cup, he allowed himself to look forward to the tournament. The other champions would not know what had hit them when he was done. He would be able to show not only Hogwarts but also the entire wizarding world that Slytherin would always beat Gryffindor. Sneering at his competitors, he listened to begin to explain what they would be expecting.

"The first task is designed to test your daring," he told Harry, Cassius, Fleur, and Viktor, "so we are not going to be telling you what it is. Courage in the face of the unknown is an important quality in a wizard… very important…

"The first task will take place on November the twenty-fourth, in front of the other students and the panel of judges.

"The champions are not permitted to ask for or accept help of any kind from their teachers to complete the tasks in the tournament. The champions will face the first challenge armed only with their wands. They will receive information about the second task when the first is over. Owing to the demanding and time-consuming nature of the tournament, the champions are exempted from end-of-year tests."

Mr. Crouch turned to look at Dumbledore. "I think that's all, is it, Albus?"

"I think so," said Dumbledore, who was looking at Mr. Crouch with a look mild concern written across his features. "Are you sure you wouldn't like to stay at Hogwarts tonight, Barty?"

"No, Dumbledore, I must get back to the Ministry," said Mr. Crouch. "It is a very busy, very difficult time at the moment… I've left young Weatherby in charge… Very enthusiastic… a little overenthusiastic, if truth be told..."

"You'll come and have a drink before you go, at least?" said Dumbledore.

"Come on, Barty, I'm staying!" said Bagman brightly and Cassius rolled his eyes. His father had informed him of Bagman's kid-like personality and he could now see how his father had been able to convince him to spill ministry secrets to the Dark Lord during the war. "It's all happening at Hogwarts now, you know, much more exciting here than at the office!"

"I think not, Ludo," said Crouch with a touch of impatience before retreating from the room. "Professor Karkaroff — Madame Maxime — a nightcap?" said Dumbledore but they were already following Crouch to the door, their corresponding champion conversing with them in hushed voices.

"Harry, Cassius, I suggest you go up to bed," said Dumbledore, smiling at both of them. "I am sure Gryffindor and Slytherin are waiting to celebrate with you, and it would be a shame to deprive them of this excellent excuse to make a great deal of mess and noise."

Cassius found himself nodding and exiting the room alongside Harry.

They crossed the great hall in silence and just as they reached the point where they would part in opposite directions towards their separate common rooms they paused.

Cassius's curiosity got the best of him and he blurted out, "How'd you do it?"

"I didn't," Harry snapped, glaring at him. "I didn't put it in. I was telling the truth."

"Sorry, didn't mean to be rude, you would never tell a Slytherin anyway," Cassius said quickly before realizing what he had said. They both stood there looking bewildered for a moment longer before they turned away quickly and hurting out of the hall.


	3. Potter Stinks

The Slytherin Common Room looked as though a bomb had exploded the morning of November 1st. The common room seemed virtually deserted, though that didn't seem to Cassius or his friends who had stayed up until around four in the morning along with the majority of the Slytherin house celebrating his victory. Rubbing the sleep from their eyes the pack of sixth-year boys waded through the trash bits of food and bottles of butter bear that littered the floor as they made their way towards the exit.

"Man, I almost feel bad for the house-elves who have to clean up this junk," Miles joked to the others after he accidentally stepped on one of the glass bottles and it shattered under his shoe.

"Yeah right, We're basically doing them a favor," Cassius said chuckling, "They'll have as much fun cleaning this up as we had making it. The damn things love serving so damn much, it's creepy."

"That so true!" Garrick said and then added in a shout, "All hail the Hogwarts Champion. Everything that comes out of his mouth is right and just. Bow down to your fair ruler!"

"Garrick is the stupidest person I know!" Cassius shouted in return and got a shove in return.

"Everything except for that," Garrick added quickly. Just before they reached the common room door Draco Malfoy fell into step next to them.

"Hey, Warrington," he drawled, "Check this out." Cassius caught the object that was now flying towards him. It seemed to be a pin to glow red and read 'Support CASSIUS WARRINGTON - The REAL Hogwarts Champion'

"Nice work Draco!" Miles said pinning the one, Malfoy, had tossed him to his robes."

"Oh but that's not all they do," Malfoy added quickly, he pressed the center of his into his chest, and the text disappeared as was replaced with glowing green letters that arranged themselves to say 'Potter Stinks'. The three sixth-years laughed and pressed their own so they replicated Malfoy's.

"Well done, little man!" Garrick said and ruffled Malfoy's hair. Malfoy glared as his hands quickly flew to his hair, trying desperately to fix the damage.

"Hey, Warrington," he called quickly catching up to them. This time he came to walk next to them on the other side to avoid Garrick.

"I was thinking I would pass these out during breakfast if that's okay with you," Malfoy said gesturing to his bag that seemed to be stuffed to the brim with more badges.

"Yeah, that would be great Malfoy. Thanks," Cassius said dismissively. Cassius liked Malfoy but sometimes the boy could be a bit annoying.

"Okay! See you soon, Warrington," Malfoy said and took off to catch up with the other 4th year Slytherins who had come into view up the hall from them.

"Merlins Pants, Cassius," Garrick said glaring at the back of Malfoy's Platnum Blonde Head, "Now he's going to stick to us like glue." Garrick, unlike Miles and Cassius who didn't mind Malfoy, had hated him since Draco stole his position on the quidditch team during their 4th year.

"Sorry, Mate," Cassius said glancing over at him, "I don't think I could have done anything to stop it." Miles just shrugged as they continued into the Great Hall.

The owls were just arriving as they sat down and loaded their plates. Cassius's owl, Duke Owlington, swooped down and made a wobbly landing on the table. He had gotten the small bird as a gift from his parents for his 11th birthday and only sometimes regretted the name he had given it. Duke held out his foot so that Cassius could untie the letter that was secured to it. Once it was removed, the owl took a nibble of his toast, ruffled his feathers before taking flight once more.

Cassius carefully unfolded the letter and quickly recognized his father's scrawl. Skimming through the letter, his smile grew as his father congratulated him on his victory and informed him how proud he was going to be to watch his son win this tournament. At one point the letter had even said that no other champion was as pure as his son and he ought to be able to win on that alone. Cassius finished the letter quickly and slipped it into his bag.

Just as he turned back to his breakfast, two more people joined their group. He found the seat to his right now filled by Sylvia. She gave him a quick peck on the cheek before loading her plate with toast and a bowl of cornflakes. Across from her Sylvia's best friend Zoe had also joined them sliding in next to her boyfriend, Miles, eyeing him with a disgusted look as he shoved three pieces of bacon.

"That is disgusting," she said as she too grabbed a bowl of cereal.

"It's delicious," he exclaimed, spit and bacon bits flying through the air.

"Yuck," Zoe quickly grabbed a napkin to wipe down the front of her robes which had taken the brunt of the flying food.

"Mate has no one ever taught you to chew with your mouthful. Your girlfriends right that is disgusting," Cassius said, giving Miles a disgusted look.

"Sorry hon," Miles sputtered once he had swallowed, "Have I told you that you're looking absolutely radiant yet, today?"

"Nope I don't believe you have," Zoe said smiling. Even Cassius had to admit that Zoe was a beautiful girl. Her curly hair fell down onto her shoulders and her warm brown skin simply glowed against the black, green, and silver color of her Slytherin robes. Zoe and Miles had been going out with Zoe ever since their 2nd year and many Slytherins would agree that they were simply perfect for each other. Zoe's spunky attitude complemented Miles' quiet fun-loving demeanor.

"Well you are looking absolutely radiant today, Zoe," Miles said.

"Why thank you, Miles," Zoe returned. Cassius quickly turned to his own girlfriend smiling warmly at her.

"I never got to officially say congratulations!" Sylvia said to him, beaming, "I am so proud of you."

"I couldn't have done it without you!" He said leaning down and giving her a soft kiss.

"Get a room!" Garrick yelled from Cassius's other side and they broke away.

"Shut up, Selwyn!" Cassius said giving him a shove as Sylvia blushed and returned to her breakfast, "Like you wouldn't do that to Cedric if you could."

"Will you shut up," Garrick said slapping a hand over Cassius's mouth. Cassius stuck out his tongue and licked it and Garrick yanked it back again looking thoroughly disgusted.

"Seriously, mate," He said wiping his hand on his robes and looking around to see if anyone had heard, "What if someone heard and told my parents?"

"Sorry Bro, it just slipped," Cassius felt horrible. Garrick was probably right if anything like that ever got back to their parents they would be as good as dead.

"It's fine, mate!" Garrick said and quickly changed the topic, "So anyway, why didn't you tell us you entered the tournament? I was so freaking surprised when I heard Dumbledore read your name, I thought for sure it was going to be one of the Lions. Cassius paused for a second, he didn't exactly want to discuss his emotions and thought process with his friends and in the Great Hall for that matter.

"Ummm, well I wanted to surprise you of course!" He said recovering quickly, "You're reactions were amazing to watch. I wish I had brought a camera"

"My best mate's name, the one who I had no idea had even entered, just came out of a cup full of flames of course I was surprised. What did you expect? Me to protest with the Lions? No way!" Garrick grinned and they all began to discuss the homework that would be due in their classes the following day.


	4. The Wand Weighing Ceremony

After what seemed like forever in the spotlight, Cassius was sick of all the attention. He did not understand how people like Harry Potter survived in an environment like that, much less crave it. It made him physically sick to think about how many people had followed him around like he was some famous star or something. A few girls had even asked for his autograph. On Friday afternoon, two weeks after he had become a champion, Cassius found himself exiting the castle and walking across the sloped lawn on his way to Herbology blissfully alone at last.

He hurried towards the greenhouses that seemed to glint in the afternoon sunlight as Professor Sprout beckoned for him to hurry from the doorway. As he came closer he noticed that the Professor was not waiting for him alone. A small Hufflepuff girl, who he guessed to be no older than 11, was standing next to her.

" you are to go with Miss Branstone back up to the castle for the Wand Weighing Ceremony," She said curtly as he approached her.

"The what, Professor?" He asked, confusion filling his mind.

"The Wand Weighing Ceremony! They need to make sure that your wand is fully functional before you participate in the tournament," She stated it like it was something that happened all of the time and Cassius felt stupid.

"Go on now! You won't want to be late!" She said shooing the two towards the castle.

"Are you excited?" The girl asked timidly as they traveled back across the lawn.

"I mean I guess," He said looking down at the small girl.

"What's your name?" He asked curiously.

"Eleanor," She said. He glanced down again and notice that the girl was skipping.

"Well, Elanor," he said, "are you excited?"

"Oh yes definitely," She said with a smile. Cassius wasn't sure how someone could be so relaxed and happy around a guy like him. He wasn't blind to the stereotypes that the other houses had come to believe about Slytherins but here was this tiny little girl skipping along beside this sixth-year Slytherin guy, smiling like she didn't have a care in the world.

"How are you liking Hogwarts so far?" he asked. Her smile seemed to be contagious and had spread to his face as well.

"Oh, it's more than I ever dreamed," she said glancing around as they walked through the entrance hall and she steered him down a hallway.

"I especially like how all of the pictures move! Everyone is so nice, too," She said, she stopped skipping abruptly and Cassius almost bumped into her as she pointed to a door and said "It's right in there," before skipping away down the hallway and disappearing around a corner.

Cassius stood there for a second trying to gather himself. The girl had been a Mudblood. What would his father say if he had seen him conversing with her? What would his friends say? He quickly dismissed his thoughts as he entered the room, excusing his behavior by reminding himself that there was no way he could have known.

The room that Cassius entered seemed to be a small unused classroom. Most of the desks had been pushed to one wall. On the other side of the room, three desks remained in front of a blackboard. They had been pushed together and was smoothing a long velvet tablecloth over them while placed 5 chairs behind the table. He nodded a greeting to both men as he entered the room and deposited his stuff on one of the other desks. As he looked around he discovered that he was the first champion to arrive. He noticed that he was also in the company of a familiar paunchy man holding a black camera and a witch dressed in magenta robes and crossed to them.

"Good Morning, Rita, Ed! Fancy seeing the two of you here!" Cassius's father was the current Editor-In-Chief of the Daily Prophet so he was very familiar with most of the reporters that worked there as well as their reputations. He had even completed an internship for the Prophet over the previous summer. At that moment, Cassius was very glad that his father was so prominent because he knew Rita would never be able to publish anything that would berate him and as a result the family name.

"Oh hello, Cassius! Your father sends his best; The whole office was rather impressed when we received the news," Rita said in a surprisingly motherly tone that Cassius couldn't bring himself to believe was genuine. Ed, the photographer, just gave him a curt nod before turning to watch Fleur Delacour and Victor Krum enter the room with their respective headmistress and headmaster. Krum sulked into a corner as Fleur quickly crossed the room flipping her blonde hair over her shoulder as she approached Cassius.

"Hello, Cassius," Fleur greeted him with a large smile, completely ignoring the other two people standing in his company. Rita dismissed herself quickly and hurrying over to the door where Harry Potter had just entered and was greeted by . Cassius seemed to gawk at Fleur for a moment before coming to his senses. Why did he do that whenever he was in her presence? She wasn't even remotely as pretty as his own girl, Sylvia, but there was something about her hair that seemed to put him into a trance. She couldn't be a veela, could she?

"Hello, Fleur," He said, giving her a curt nod and glancing around desperately looking for a way out of this conversation but finding none, "How are you doing today?"

"Meh," she said dismissively, "I seem to find myzelf constantz' diz'pointed by ze 'ogwarts Castle. It iz nowhere as elegant as Beauxbatons and the draft iz simply 'orendus," She shivered and looked at him expectantly and Cassius stared back at her, trying to figure out what she wanted him to do. It wasn't as if he could change the weather. Girls!

"Oh well, ummmm, sorry to hear that," he said quickly and disappointment washed over her face before it was wiped once more and replaced by a more forced smile. She tossed her hair over her shoulder once again and the world seemed to slow as Cassius seemed to be mesmerized by the falling strands of hair. Each strand seemed to sparkle as the light played across it. Cassius found himself wanting to run his hands through it. The light got to play with it; why couldn't he? He was about to ask Fleur if she would let him when a name crossed through his mind and brought him to a stop. Sylvia. Her face flashed through his thoughts and he felt his blood boil. He couldn't believe he had been about to betray her for a girl who he had only just met. He was about ready to pull his wand on her and demand to know the secrets of her enchantment when Professor Dumbledore entered followed by .

"Alright is everyone present?" He said warmly and Cassius sneered at him. Eventually, the muggle loving fool would get what he deserved at the hands of the dark lord. But that time was not now; right now was the wand weighing ceremony. Cassius was not surprised when Bagman announced that Rita had pulled Harry away for an 'exclusive interview' aka pure torture. Cassius almost felt bad for the boy as Dumbledore quickly exited to track them down. Rita's quill was savage and he wouldn't wish that on most but Potter probably deserved it.

When the three had rejoined the group the ceremony commenced. The four champions were ushered into 4 chairs and the judges took seats behind the table as took his place in the center of the room.

"Mademoiselle Delacour, could we have you first, please?" said beckoning her forward. Fleur held her wand out and the wandmaker plucked it and began twirling it before holding it up to his eyes, occasionally letting out a 'hmmm or ahhh'.

"Yes," he said in a hushed voice, "nine and a half inches… inflexible… rosewood… and containing… dear me…"

"An 'air from ze 'ead of a veela," Fleur filled in. "One of my grandmuzzer's."

So Cassius had been right in his assumption earlier and had a sudden impulse to stand up and shout 'I knew it', at the top of his lungs. Fortunately, he didn't and remained seated and silent.

"Yes," said Mr. Ollivander, "yes, I've never used veela hair myself, of course. I find it makes for rather temperamental wands… however, to each his own, and if this suits you…"

After stroking the wand once more he muttered, "Orchideous!" and a bouquet of flowers burst from its tip. Handing the wand and the flowers back to Fleur and pronounced the wand to be in fine working order.

" , you next," He said and Cassius stood. Taking his wand from his pocket he offered it to the wandmaker who seemed to be quite eager to examine it.

"Ah yes, I remember this wand very well," He said beaming at Cassius, "Beach wood… 13 inches… Unbending… and Dragon Heartstring. You have taken excellent care of it" The wand brandished it and send a collection of smoke rings flying out of its tip before offering it back to Cassius.

"That will serve you well," He said and shooed Cassius back to his seat. He found himself much more impatient as he waited for to finish with the other two champions as he noticed Fleur try to catch his attention out of the corner of his eyes. Once the wandmaker had finished Rita had insisted on getting pictures. Once she was satisfied with all of the shots they were dismissed from the room and he hurried out as fast as he could. He wanted to get as much space between him and Fleur as humanly possible. He was not looking forward to explaining to Sylvia what had happened.


	5. Dragons

The school's enthusiasm around the tournament had only grown once Rita's article had been released. The article titled 'Boy-Who-Lived faces of against Daily Prophet Editors Son in the Triwizard Tournament' had quickly become an overnight sensation. Cassius was portrayed as the obvious winner while Harry was written to be a pathetic underdog. The Slytherins could not seem to get enough of the article. His friends seemed to carry it everywhere and pull quotes from it whenever there was a dull moment. Cassius rarely noticed however because he was busy researching previous tournaments to try and figure out how to prepare for the first task. Anytime that he wasn't in class, eating, or doing his prefect duties, he found himself in the library pouring over history books trying to guess what he would be facing.

On the Sunday before the task, Cassius felt like banging his head against the table. He couldn't help but feel like he was no closer to being prepared than he had been when had given them their instructions. When he felt a light tap on his shoulder, he looked up to see Sylvia standing behind him. She was smiling although it seemed to be a little less genuine than usual. He suddenly felt extremely guilty. With everything going on he had put his relationship with her on the back burner.

"Cas, we have Prefect Duties tonight," she whispered, "Did you forget again?"

"Oh shit," Cassius stood up and hastily began to shove books into his bag, "I'm so sorry!"

"It's okay," she said, "I understand that you're stressed." One look at her face would have told Cassius that this statement had been a downright lie but he didn't look at her as he swung his bag over his shoulder and headed towards the exit. Sylvia let out a sigh before running to catch up with him.

A strained silence fell over them as they walked through the hallways. Their footsteps echoed against the stone walls as they searched for anything to say.

"Cas?" Sylvia asked timidly, breaking their silence. It was already past midnight and they had yet to say anything.

"Yes?" Cassius said not daring to look at her.

"You missed our Hogsmeade Date today," She said and Cassius swore.

"I'm so sorry, Sylvia," He said, pulling her into a hug. She began to cry and his heart broke.

"I can't do this anymore," she said pushing away from him, "We have not had a conversation since your name came out of that wretched cup! All it is is 'tournament' this, and 'first task' that! I'm sick of it!"

"If this is about Fleur I already to-" Cassius started but Sylvia cut him off again.

"No this is not about that phlegm! This is about us!" Her voice echoed through the entrance hall.

"Look, Sylvia, hear me out," he said quietly, "I know this has been tough on you and I feel horrible about it. If I knew this is what was going to happen if I entered I never would have." Sylvia opened her mouth to respond but he barreled on before she could say anything.

"I realize I have been a sucky boyfriend, but if you can bear with me until the first task is over then I promise you I will take a break."

She seemed to contemplate his proposal for a moment before nodding to herself and responding "What about the other tasks?"

"Well we can figure that out when they get closer but I promise I won't shut you out again." With this Sylvia seemed to be satisfied with this and lifted herself onto her toes to give him a soft kiss. They were about to exit the hall when a loud creak echoed through the silence. Cassius made eye contact with Sylvia before they both turned slowly on their heels towards the great oak doors that lead to the grounds. They watched as one slowly opened just enough that someone could have slipped through and then closed once more. There was a moment of silence before quiet footfalls reached their ears. Cassius looked around for the person responsible for the noises but saw no one. The footfalls seemed to amplify as Cassius slowly reached for his wand.

Suddenly out of nowhere, a boy appeared right in front of them. Sylvia let out a startled cry and Cassius pulled his wand and pointed it at the figure. Once he recognized the boy as Potter he quickly lowered it.

"Dragons," Harry said with a panicked look on his face.

"What?" Sylvia asked looking at him as if he had gone insane.

"That's the first task," Harry supplied quickly, "There's one for each of us. I think we have to get past them somehow."

Cassius stared at the boy disbelieving. Was this some sort of trick? Why was Potter telling him, a Slytherin not to mention his opponent, this information? Was he dropped on his head as a baby?

"Is this a trick?" Sylvia said, pulling her wand out of her robes, "Because I will not hesitate to curse you and hex you until your fingers fall off and then I will assign you Detention with Professor Snape for the rest of the school year if it is."

"No!" Harry threw his arms up in frustration, "I'm not trying to trick you, they're in the forest right now."

Sylvia raised her wand but Cassius rested a hand on her arm and gently pushed it back down to her side.

"Why are you telling me this?" He asked. He wasn't wholly convinced that this wasn't just some practical joke but he decided to play along now and investigate later.

"Madame Maxime and Karkaroff know and they are bound to tell Fleur and Krum so you would have been at an unfair disadvantage," Harry said.

"And why do you care?" Sylvia spat at him. Harry just shrugged.

"Good night," He said before he turned away and walked towards the staircase. He seemed to rummage through his pockets briefly before pulling something out and disappearing from view once more.

Sylvia and Cassius listened to his retreating footfall for a moment before turning to each other.

"I don't believe him," Sylvia said sharply.

"I'm aware," Cassius said smiling down at her. Over the past few weeks, he had forgotten just how feisty the girl could get.

"I think we need to go check out the forest," he said glancing around the hall again to make sure they were still alone, "That way we will know for sure."

"I agree however, we can't just go prancing out there right now," Sylvia said.

"We could use the Disillusionment Charm that we learned in class the other day," Cassius suggested.

"That could work," Sylvia said, pausing a moment to think before continuing, "Yeah, let's do it." Removing his wand from his robes once more he rapped himself over the head with the tip. A sensation of a raw egg being cracked over onto his head and trickling down his body overtook his senses for a moment before he pocked his wand and glanced over where Sylvia had been standing moments ago.

"Does it look right?" he asked the empty space next to him.

"Yep, looks amazing!" Sylvia's voice responded. He reached out in her direction until he found her hand.

"Alright let's go then," he said and they walked out onto the grounds hand in hand.

They walked at a brisk pace towards the forest in the direction that Harry had indicated. They slowed as Hagrid and Madame Maxime came into view. Hagrid seemed to be trying his best to keep up as Madame Maxime hurried towards the Beauxbatons Carriage. They edged around the large duo and continued on. Cassius was about ready to turn back and call it all a joke as they traveled far enough to where the castle and lake were nearly out of sight. The peaceful quiet night was abruptly shattered as a cacophonous roar.

Cassius jumped backward and his jaw dropped open. There was no doubt in his mind on what had made the sound. He rushed forward dragging Sylvia with his and approached the large clump of trees. Panting he scanned the clearing. Men were running all around trying to put out flames that had erupted from one of the cages. Sylvia let out a gasp as they stood dumbstruck by the sight.

Not long after they arrived they also noticed Karkaroff standing around 50 feet to their right. They stood very still until he left and then after waiting a few moments followed him back up to the castle. Once they had returned to the castle, they quickly lifted their enchantments.

"We need to go to the library," Cassius said, his mind preoccupied with thoughts.

"Cas, it's 3 in the morning, the library is closed." Sylvia said, "We can go in the morning. Right now we need to get some sleep." Cassius grumbled in response before following her into the dungeons. Cassius couldn't help but think how difficult this task would be.


	6. The Plan

"So according to this one, A Swedish Short-Snout make their dens in the sides of mountains by melting the rock with their flames," Miles read from a book propped against his pillow, "That's wicked!"

Cassius had filled Miles, Garrick, and Zoe in on the discovery he and Sylvia had made the following morning. They had all quickly offered to help and after a long day of classes had been crammed into the Slytherin 6th year boys dormitory, looking over every mention of dragons they could find in their textbooks as well as some that Cassius had snatched from the library over lunch.

After reading through the entries in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Cassius and Sylvia had quickly identified the breeds of dragons they had seen. There had been a silvery blue dragon in the furthest cage from them which they were almost certain was a Swedish Short-Snout. In the next cage over there was a pretty green dragon that Sylvia had quickly deemed as her personal favorite and they quickly concluded to be a Welsh Green. The third cage held a scarlet dragon with bulging eyes. They had some difficulty with this one but had ultimately guessed that it was a Chinese Fireball. The last one was the easiest to guess as it was the most vicious of the four and had a unique lizard-like appearance. This was the Hungarian Horntail and after reading what Newt Scamander had written about them he was really hoping he would not have to face it.

Cassius dipped his quill in ink and crammed 'can melt rock with fire' between 'retractable spikes' and 'barbed tail' beneath the heading 'Swedish Short-Snout'.

"I think we have enough on the different breeds," he said, looking down at the full page of attributes that made him even more nervous for the task he was facing, "Does anyone have any ideas on how to get past one?"

"Well this one does say that a dragon's weakest point is their eyes, so we could try and find a spell that would blind it," Garrick said.

"I really doubt that would earn me points though," Cassius said after a moment of hesitation, "I don't think the judges would like it much if I hurt the dragon."

"Well, then what's the point?" Zoe asked from her perch on top of Miles's desk. Cassius simply shrugged and pondered the question. Before he could answer, however, his train of thought was interrupted by the door to the dormitory swinging open and Sylvia stepping in with two bags stuffed to the brim with food.

"Oh my god Sylvia! You are a God sent," Miles shouted at the same time Garrick let out a whoop of joy. Sylvia made her way to the center of the room before depositing the two bags on the floor and they all dug in. After grabbing a turkey sandwich from one of the bags and taking a few bites, Sylvia turned to Cassius.

"Hey, I had an idea as I was walking to the kitchens," she said smiling excitedly, "Chances are they probably won't want you to hurt the dragons during the task, right?" when they all nodded she continued, "So the only other option that would test your daring, per se, would be to get past it." Everybody seemed to agree with this statement and nodded in approval.

"Then we are going to need some kind of distraction," Zoe added. They all sat there for a full minute in complete silence, only broken by the crinkle of wrappers and the sounds of chewing.

"If you want to make a distraction," Garrick started, speaking slowly, "then maybe we should focus on transfiguration. That way you can just release the animal and you don't have to worry about maintaining a charm."

"You've got a good point there," Cassius remarked, letting himself relax as the plan began to form, "Any idea on what animal? I can't do anything too big."

"Why don't you make a dog," Zoe suggested, "It would definitely be big enough to catch the dragon's attention and is energetic enough to keep it busy."

"Yeah! and we mastered that last week so it would be simple enough for you to do!" Sylvia said, offering a high five to Zoe, who slapped her hand with a loud clap.

"Well that's settled then," Cassius said grinning for the first time in a while.

"Not to be the buzzkill here but won't the dragon lose interest pretty easily once Cassius starts moving towards the goal?" Garrick said, skeptically.

"Actually I have an idea for that," Miles spoke up, "You could use the Disillusionment Charm again so that the dragon won't notice you and only be focused on the dog."

"Yes!" Cassius said confidently.

"You're so going to win this!" Garrick exclaimed, pounding him on the back causing him to nearly choke on his food.

Once they had finalized the plan, Sylvia and Zoe dismissed themselves from the group citing the time and classes the following day. As the other 2 boys busied themselves with finishing some of their remaining classwork, Cassius remained sitting on the floor lost in thought. The panic that had filled him since the moment 'dragons' had passed through Potters mouth had ebbed slightly as they planned but had returned as he became alone once before.

"Dude, you good?" Garrick asked.

"Yeah, just nervous that I'll disappoint everyone," Cassius vocalized. He didn't talk about his fears with his mates as much as he had with Sylvia so this caught Garrick and Miles by surprise.

"Dude if anyone can do it, it's you," Miles said confidently, "Isn't that why the cup chose you anyway?"

"He's got a point, Cassius," Garrick remarked, crossing to Cassius and offering him a hand to help him up.

"Thanks, guys," Cassius said, grasping the hand tightly and pulling him to his feet, "I needed that." Getting into bed and pulling his covers over him, Cassius let out a shaky breath. He would make everyone proud, he told himself, he had to … for his house … for his father … for the dark lord.


	7. Pride and Allegiance

The following morning, it took every ounce of Cassius' self-discipline to drag himself out of bed. He desperately wanted to simply burrow himself under the blankets and disappear but that simply wasn't possible. Sitting on the edge of his bed he ran through a mental checklist of everything he had to do leading up to the task that afternoon. He still had a full morning of classes before he had to battle a dragon. At the mere thought of what awaited him, Cassius let out a frustrated grown and let himself fall back onto his blankets and melted into their warmth.

"Oi, what in the hell are you doing?" Garrick said, entering the room. He glanced at Cassius' form sprawled across the bed. Bending down, he scooped up Cassius's shoes and proceeded to chuck them at the boy. Cassius managed to swat the first one away but the second hit him smack in his gut causing him to grown.

"Get your ass moving!" Garrick said, "We have potions in 10 minutes and I do not feel like showing up late. Also, Malfoy has been bugging me all morning long about how much better you are than Potter and it's not like I don't agree with him but he's so bloody annoying. The way he talks about Potter, it's like 'Potter this' and 'Potter that'. You would think the boy wanted to date him or something!" Cassius gave him a sideways look as he pulled on his shoes and reached for his bookbag.

"That's disgusting," He said, before swinging the bag over his shoulder, "Never ever say that again."

"Then hurry up so I don't have to," Garrick said gesturing to the door, "Champions First!"

"Oh shut up," Cassius said, purposely ramming his shoulder into his friends as he crossed into the hallway.

"Holy mother of Merlin, that hurt," Garrick muttered rubbing his shoulder, "I think that might bruise."

"Sorry," Cassius called back to his friend already a few paces in front of him, "I was practicing for the dragon."

"Well, bloody hell then, I almost feel bad for the poor beast then," Garrick called back before jogging to catch up.

They were only a couple of minutes late to potions but Snape either didn't notice or just didn't care. Cassius thought it was probably the latter because of all of the cheering and yelling that erupted from the Slytherin side of the room the moment he entered.

Cassius's leg bounced under his desk as he glanced repeatedly at the clock. The hand seemed to be moving at double speed and before he knew it the lunch bell echoed through the hall and class was dismissed.

"Warrington," Snape called as Cassius turned to leave the classroom. He looked back in confusion. Was this about coming in late, Snape was never one to take points from his own house but he guessed that could change since he had inadvertently caused such a big disruption when he had entered.

"I am to escort you down to the grounds now," Snape drawled, "The champions will need time to do last-minute preparations for the task."

He quickly fell into step with Snape as they made their way towards the forest where he knew the dragons were being kept. He walked a pace or so behind Snape, in order to appear as if he didn't know where he was heading. As the grove of trees came into view he found that a large white tent had been put up to block the dragons from view.

Cassius made to enter the tent but before he could, Snape blocked his path and pulled him off to the side.

"Your father has asked me to pass along a message for him," Snape revealed in a low tone, "He would like me to remind you to make him proud and that the time has almost arrived for your allegiance to pay off."

Cassius looked at his professor in surprise. They stood there making direct eye contact for a moment before Cassius let his eyes drop quickly to Snape's left sleeve before returning to make eye contact once more. Snape let out an almost imperceptible nod before turning on his heels and striding back towards the castle with his robes billowing behind him.

Cassius stood in shock for a moment before slowly trudging towards the tent and entering quietly.

"Ahh yes, , very good," Bagman exclaimed when he saw Cassius, "Very good indeed, now we are only waiting for Harry."

Both Krum and Fleur had already taken up positions of worry in two of the corners. Fleur was seated on a small wooden stool looking pale and almost ragged as she mumbled to herself and shook like a leaf. Krum just seemed to give an air of unfriendliness and bad-temper radiating from him as he leaned against the wall. Cassius quickly made his way to the last empty corner of the tent and sat down on another stool similar to Fleurs. He couldn't remember the last time he had been this nervous about something. As he began to go over his plan in his head, reviewing the incantations and wand movements, he found himself unable to sit still. He quickly rose and began to pace.

After he was confident that he had done all he could to prepare, he let his mind wander to the odd message that snape had relayed to him. Could it actually be that the dark lord was on the brink of returning? It just seemed so far fetched, he didn't understand why they believe he would return now. Was it something to do with the world cup? Or Potter entering the tournament? Or someone ELSE entering Potter into the tournament?

Suddenly the tent entrance was opened once more and Potter entered the tent. When the boy glanced at him, Cassius grimaced. The boy had no idea what might actually be coming for him. Suddenly, the dragons seemed to pale in comparison to the impending doom. Doom? Cassius shook his head in disbelief. The Dark Lord rising was not doom, it was a victory. Right?

"Harry! Good-o!" called Bagman happily, practically skipping over to the boy. "Come in, come in, make yourself at home!"

"Well, now we're all here; time to fill you in!" said Bagman brightly. "When the audience has assembled, I'm going to be offering each of you this bag,"

He quickly withdrew a purple silk pouch from his pocket and waved it at the group, "and you will each select a small model of the thing you are about to face! There are different, er, varieties, you see. And I have to tell you something else too … ah, yes … your task is to collect the golden egg!"

Cassius rolled his eyes at the man's exhilaration before making eye contact with Potter. Harry surprised both of them by crossing to Cassius and facing him. Harry's mouth opened but no words came out. Cassius looked down at the boy and almost felt bad. Anxiety and Fear played against the boy's face and he seemed to be sick if he wasn't careful.

"Er, how are your classes," Cassius asked breaking the silence.

"Oh," Harry seemed to have to wrack his brain for an answer, "Errr they are fine. I had Binns this morning."

"Ooofff," Cassius said wincing, "Tough luck!"

"I mean at least it wasn't Snape," Harry said chuckling before abruptly stopping and pailing, "Err, well, he's not that bad I guess."

Cassius let out a chuckle at the boy's awkward stuttering. He knew the animosity between Gryffindor and Snape, and it was probably fair to say that he wouldn't like the man either if he wasn't in Slytherin. Not that that was ever a possibility.

"It's true," Cassius agreed, "He's not the best to anyone else." Harry visibly relaxed and began to pace and Cassius sat down on the stool once more.

"Potter," Cassius called and beckoned the boy over to him once more. He leaned close to the boy so that none of the other champions or Bagman would hear their exchange. At that moment though, the hundreds of Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, and Durmstrang students were conversing loudly as they passed the tent, causing his conversation to be hidden.

"Potter, you have a plan right?" he asked in a hushed whisper. He wasn't sure why he was doing this and he wasn't sure what he would do if the boy shook his head. Luckily he didn't have to find out, because Harry nodded quickly.

"You do too, right?" Harry said, his eyebrows shooting up in suspicion.

"Yes," Cassius said rolling his eyes, "Don't worry I'm not trying to steal yours." Harry nodded curtly and turned as Bagman beckon them to gather around the purple bag.

"Ladies first," Bagman informed and shoved the bag towards Fleur. She reached one shaking hand into the bag and withdrew a small perfect replica of the Welsh Green. The small dragon wiggled around in her palm displaying a number 2 hanging around its neck. Krum drew the Chinese Fireball next with the number 3.

Cassius took a deep breath as the bag was shoved in front of his face. Reaching inside his had closed around one of the wiggling forms and withdrew it. Opening his hand he stared down at his palm. On it sat the miniature version of the bluish-gray Swedish Short-Snout with a number one dangling around its neck. He quickly suppressed a grown. He tore his eyes off of the dragon just long enough to notice that Potter had pulled the Hungarian Horntail.

"Well, there you are!" advised Bagman. "You have each pulled out the dragon you will face, and the numbers refer to the order in which you are to take on the dragons, do you see? Now, I'm going to have to leave you in a moment, because I'm commentating. Mr. Warrington, you're first, just go out into the enclosure when you hear a whistle, all right? Now … Harry … could I have a quick word? Outside?"

Harry and Bagman left and Cassius collected himself. He crossed the tent, deposited the dragon on the stool, and stood in at the entrance. He slowly counted to 10 in his head as he tried to calm his breathing. He had to stop at 8, however, when the whistle pierced the air and he stepped out of the tent and into the arena.


End file.
